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Macbook V's Macbook Pro

B

btc160878

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 26, 2008
1
0
My iBook G4 14" 60gig 512 ram looks like it is finally on it's last legs. I said this a few months ago but it's kept plodding along but this time I think it is about to pack it in.

Having a look around the apple website this evening I was thinking of getting the middle of the range macbook because thats all I really justify spending at the moment. Having a look around the refurbished machines they have at the moment they have a 15" macbook pro for only $100 more.

I realize that it is the older model with the 2.2ghz intel chip and a 120gig HD but for the extra $100 is it a better deal?

I mainly use my old laptop for internet and watching movies and a little bit of photo work. I sometimes mess around in iMovie but not very often.

How much will I notice the difference in the 13.3" screen compared to the 14" I have now?

I like the idea of the backlit keyboard and the slightly bigger screen of the macbook pro.

Any advice, comments, expriences would be great.

Thanks
B

Edit:
link for the refurb mbp
http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebO...LID?fnode=home/specialdeals/mac&nplm=FA895X/A
 
Well, the advantages of the MacBook are a faster CPU, larger hard drive, smaller dimensions and lower price.

MacBook Pro on the other hand has a slightly bigger screen (1440x900 vs 1280x800), a better graphics card and other small things Pro models have (backlit keyboard, etc).

Since you didn't mention playing games, the better graphics card won't help you in any way. So all you have to figure out is what's more important - slightly better performance and more portability or slightly more desktop space and stuff like the backlit keyboard.

Going from 14 to 13.3 won't be a problem, i'd even say it will be an improvement, since you'll be getting a widescreen monitor instead of 4:3 and you will also have a higher resolution (more space on the desktop), although the screen is phisically smaller.
 
im in the same situation as your are in, choosing between a macbook and a macbook pro. I tried using the mb at school... they suck, they lag when typing, the trackpads are really bad and the the graphics are even worse (they're the old version of mb, about 2 yrs ago). most of my works are typing, presentation, internet, msn, email, graphic and music making. i dont want my macbook to lag like that especially when working on the logic express. any ideas of which to chose?
 
Natsu said:
im in the same situation as your are in, choosing between a macbook and a macbook pro. I tried using the mb at school... they suck, they lag when typing, the trackpads are really bad and the the graphics are even worse (they're the old version of mb, about 2 yrs ago). most of my works are typing, presentation, internet, msn, email, graphic and music making. i dont want my macbook to lag like that especially when working on the logic express. any ideas of which to chose?
Click to expand...

You must have been unfortunate with your MacBook dealings. Graphically MacBooks will perform badly with the GMA chipset, but load 2-3GB of RAM in there, and they are good enough for all the things you mentioned.

HOWEVER, if you can afford the MBP, I would get one. Although you may lose 200MHz per core on the refurbs (compared with the current MBs), with plenty of RAM, and the dedicated graphics memory you will see better performance from the pro.
 
thanks for the advice but I'll stick to the black macbook. My cousin has a macbook pro and its really heavy. I personally want a light laptop so i can carry it around at school. I might be getting a macbook pro when i graduated but thats in the far future.
 
Hi
New here and I am interested in the same two options (New Macbook vs refurb MBP 2.2). So how different would 2.2 vs 2.4 be? Would video editing, which I seldom do be better on the MBP.

btw, weight wise it is 5 vs 5.4 pounds.
 
Thanks Matek, the portability I would have to check out at the store. I thought screen and graphics card would easily give the MBP and edge but perhaps not vs. 2.4G and more RAM.
 
CBA said:
Thanks Matek, the portability I would have to check out at the store. I thought screen and graphics card would easily give the MBP and edge but perhaps not vs. 2.4G and more RAM.
Click to expand...

Most people don't even utilize the GPU in the pro. Why pay that much more for a computer that you're not going to even utilize?

If you're not doing some intensive video applications, like gaming or high-end video editing, then just go for a BlackBook and add the 4 gigs of third party RAM. It's way cheaper than even the basic pro.

The CPU is basically on par with the high-end MB and the baseline Pro.

As far as portability goes, the Pro isn't that much heavier than the MB tbh. The bigger screen and higher standard resolution is definitely nicer, but again, you're paying quite a premium for those things. I'd say that the MB is pretty easy to carry around *it goes all around town and all over campus with me* the Pro is definitely a bit more cumbersome, but by no means isn't big enough to be classified as difficult to carry around.
 
Yeah the MB is my most likely candidate. I got to go se them the side by side (for size comparion). The MB vs MBP price wouldn't more than $150 as I was looking at the refurb MBP vs. new MB. I would probably end up buying an extra display if I end up doing a lot of photo work.
 
update

Thanks for the advice guys.
I ended up with a refurbished MB 2.4 after comparing it to the MBP in the store. Now I will have to wait for it to arrive.
 
It is in

God or not, this litte :apple: is very cool and easy to use. I am just trying to figure out how best to setup music, video and photos files as they will occuppy most of the HD space.

Once I got all loaded on to the MB I guess I should reformat my external HD and make it a storage for backup. Any advice?
 
Get whichever one you find more appealing. They are both comparable when it comes to specs and performance, so get which one you want.

Personally, I like the MB just because it is sleeker, but if you are hard on your computer the MBP stands up more to abuse.
 
CBA said:
God or not, this litte :apple: is very cool and easy to use. I am just trying to figure out how best to setup music, video and photos files as they will occuppy most of the HD space. …
Click to expand...

let iTunes and iPhoto store your music and photos. for video either open in the Finder with QuickTime Player or import into iTunes. iTunes is also a capable video player.

to play divx, xvid, mkv, flv etc download and install Perian.

to play windows media download and install Flip4Mac.

CBA said:
… Once I got all loaded on to the MB I guess I should reformat my external HD and make it a storage for backup. Any advice?
Click to expand...

use Time Machine.
 
richthomas said:
let iTunes and iPhoto store your music and photos. for video either open in the Finder with QuickTime Player or import into iTunes. iTunes is also a capable video player.

to play divx, xvid, mkv, flv etc download and install Perian.

to play windows media download and install Flip4Mac.



use Time Machine.
Click to expand...

Thanks. So far I got iTunes and iPhoto for music and photos and I planning on using Time Machine for automatic back up. One weird thing is that I saw album covers in iPhoto events from iTunes. How can I get iPhoto to exclude the album covers?

Howabout iMovie or iDVD are they any good for reading, storing and burning my HDD video camera files (havn't tried those programs at all yet)?
 
Natsu said:
thanks for the advice but I'll stick to the black macbook. My cousin has a macbook pro and its really heavy. I personally want a light laptop so i can carry it around at school. I might be getting a macbook pro when i graduated but thats in the far future.
Click to expand...

The MacBook Pro weighs only .4 lbs more than the MacBook.
 
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